Walking in, I had no idea what the organisation was or who was presenting the lecture I attended today. I found this week’s “new experience” on Eventbrite advertised as “The Power of True Feelings.” It was free and local and I thought I could use an hour of self-help. It benefits me and the people who share space with me.

Upon meeting Halina and discovering that she learned about the “movement” 25 years ago in some back alley in Melbourne I thought “ok, what’s this really all about?”  She shared that she was a bookkeeper by profession but that a message came from her “angels” instructing her to give this series of lectures. Ok. Putting aside these things which didn’t quite make sense to me I sat ready with an open mind, as I tend to do. We discussed my work as a massage therapist and acupuncturist and it was lovely to talk about healing, energy work and the power of touch. I love conversations that are easily flowing and open-minded.

Halina began about understanding the difference between true feelings (gut instinct, inspiration and creativity) versus emotions which she described as the slave or mistress to the intellect (our computer which only understands what we’ve seen, read and done.) In that sense the emotions are very limited. She said that feelings have been devalued in our society but really that they should be listened to and most respected.

A diagram of “planet earth” was drawn on a white board with two separate hemispheres. One representing intellect and the other feelings. The decisions we make every day are based on these two hemispheres being in balance. When we make mistakes it should be used as a learning tool to understand where we are out of balance allowing us a chance to grow. When feelings and intellect are in alignment your dreams will be realised. You will find yourself in the right place at the right time.

We spent some time “reading” each other’s energy. We did this by holding an object of another classmate (a wedding ring for example). While closing our eyes we held the object and described what we felt. It may have been cold or hot. It could have felt heavy or electric. What colours came to mind, etc. It was interesting to see the conversations flow from what we noted. The most uptight person in the room had an object that was cold as ice, it gave the feeling of walls up and nervousness. Did we just pick up on her energy or was it really acquired from the item?

Halina demonstrated cleansing auras which she suggested we do daily, when we wake, at bedtime, whenever we are feeling tired or negative energy within ourselves or from the people around us. She rubbed her hands together vigorously and asked us to copy her. We then felt the heat and magnetic pull of our own energy. Cool, I’ve done this before in qi gong and while studying acupuncture. The feeling is real and I have always been very sensitive to it. We then delved into the cleansing by first shaking out our hands, rubbing our third eye and stroking from forehead down temples to cheeks with both hands. Next, we stroked from forehead, over our heads and to our shoulders. I immediately felt a tingle of energy down to my toes, it was really cool. She lost me a bit when I was urged to recite “In the name of love, I cleanse my body and my soul.” I did it as I am practicing my “joining” skills. It felt weird though. Very dramatic and phoney.

Halina insisted that we are towers of energy and that we communicate with our angels regularly. Goosebumps, they mean that your angels are with you. If we are centred we will be able to receive their energy, we will be able to hear what our angels are telling us. This is our gut instinct, our “true feelings.”

I believe in the idea that we are all connected and that we are all made up of energy. I love this notion. It makes sense when I dream of something before it happens or why I think of someone before they phone me. Having spent most of my adult life connected to others through touch I am very sensitive to feeling energy. It is palpable. Intuition (true feelings) often direct me when I’m treating a client. I trust my gut and my hands and often what I find and work on hasn’t even been discussed. Are my “angels” telling me what to do? It makes me think of acupuncturists walking around with a needle in Du20 to communicate with deceased masters. I accepted that as truth when I heard it in college but today’s lecture does not have me believing. Why?

I left the group and headed home to do some research. I enjoyed the hour spent reading the energy of others and our discussion on grounding ourselves. It was upbeat and kind of “out there” but pleasant too. I am disappointed to find out it is a cult, a pyramid scheme and the organisation is set up to drain their hopeful believers of their money. Sigh. I guess my gut was telling me something was off today.

After reading about the International Peace Movement (IPM) I can’t help but feel let down. I really enjoy my weekly outings into new and unknown things and perhaps I don’t research my choices as well as I should. I believe it’s all part of the fun, being spontaneous and not overanalysing it. When I reflect on today I never felt taken advantage of though and I did really enjoy the experience. I will try to remember it that way and not have it be marred by something I read online after the fact. I suppose that’s how these things get people hooked. It’s all nice and innocent at first.

Something I believe wholeheartedly is that you can find a learning lesson almost anywhere if you are open to it. Today, I came away with the knowledge that the feeling of guilt over someone or something hitting a “hot spot” in me is something I should accept and let go. That I should take it as a sign that I’m still learning and still developing in a certain area in my life. That it’s ok. We are all human and our experiences thus far are unique to each of us and so we arrive at places at different times in our lives. So what if I hung up on the obnoxious and pushy Vodafone guy who was pressuring me to give out my personal information over the phone? Normally, I would never treat someone so poorly, it is unlike me. I have never been comfortable with confrontation and so I will accept that I’m still a work in progress in this department. I will not beat myself up over the fact that I felt so rude hanging up on him. I have now been gifted with the knowledge that I have something I can work on. Thank you Vodafone and thank you IPM.

A video clip for your entertainment.

If you are interested in learning more about IPM.